Review: Marianne Season 1

It took me a bit to catch up with Netflix's new series Marianne, and I'm sure glad I made the effort to watch it. If you need something to jump start your Halloween spirit, this French series is definitely a good way to do it.

The premise is gangbusters: a bestselling horror writer is lured back to her gloomy coastal town by an evil being named Marianne, who provided the inspiration for the author's books. It turns out said writer, Emma, is planning to kill off her main character... and Marianne doesn't like that.

There are oodles of scares and nightmare images throughout the eight episodes, including the terrifying stare of Corinne Valancogne (above), who's a host for Marianne early on. Something about Valancogne's facial expressions fucked me right up from the outset. Kudos to you, madame!

Writer/director Samuel Bodin loads as much horror into every episode as humanly possible. In much the same way as Mike Flanagan did with The Haunting of Hill House, there are tons of subtle and creepy things going on that subconsciously prey on your fears. Yet there's plenty of in-your-face scares as well, making Marianne a double whammy of horror.

Some are saying this show is the scariest thing ever, which seems to be an audience trend every time something new and scary comes along. I wouldn't go that far, but Marianne is certainly a treat for horror fans who want something new this Halloween. It's a Good!

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